Place is nice. Smells a bit fishy but I guess that is to be expected. Service was a bit slow. Food was decent. It's a byob so that's a plus. Price was fair. Ive had better Thai, but this place works when you want a quick fix. read more

I had a bad stomach after eating their food during 4th July weekend, when I was visiting with my cousin. I will never go here again. read more

Super nice service. Drunken noodles, grilled scallops and duck salad were all amazing.

Someone recently recommended Thai Essence to me and I went there for the first time about a month ago. My friend and I loved the food and the service. The food was delicious; the ingredients seemed to be fresh. The waitresses were so nice to us. I have been to Orchid in Nutley as well which is good (cute little place and terrific service), but I thought the food at Thai Essence was a little better. However, I think Thai Essence might be slightly pricier than Orchid. Overall, Thai Essence is one of my favorite restaurants right now. I've recommended it to my friends and I'm actually planning a dinner there with a few of them this coming weekend. read more

I came here with a group of friend. One of them come here a lot. I tried the Chicken Pad Thai. It was very sweet. and the chicken was not as tender as what I like it. Not sure if it suppose to be that way. But I usually gauge how good the food is by how the chicken is and how the fried rice is. I'll give this place another try and let you know. read more

Came here for lunch. Service was spectacular and the food was delicious. The restaurant is extremely well kept and the staff is very friendly. Exactly what I would want from a restaurant. I plan on coming here several times in the future. read more

Reliably good - Food is consistently tasty. Service is usually quick (I had 1 slow service meal out of 6) and always friendly. The beef salad is very flavorful. Chilean Sea Bass is awesome, and the Grilled Beef is terrific too! ... and close it out with the Chocolate Lava Cake for dessert (place the order at the beginning of the meal). Can't go wrong. read more

I love this restaurant. The ambiance is very nice. Hanging pendant lighting over the seating area. A large fish tank to look at while in the restaurant. I usually only drink water when I eat here, and for good reason. Their water is clean and purified. It taastes refreshing and delicious. I often wonder why all restaurants can't do this simple, inexpensive bonus for their customers, which is one of the most noticeable aspects of dining out. Appetizers, you must try the basil rolls which are fresh and tasty, served with a hoison sauce. Also the vegetable spring rolls delic! My most FAV appetizer at this place is the seared tuna dish which is served with a nice gourmet, ( or at least I think it is ) mustard. Always prepared perfectly and I have never had to send a dish back to the kitchen. The chicken curry puffs are also a favorite here, and usually my main course meal is the vegetable fried rice dish served with bits of egg and tofu with a piece of lime that i squeeze on my rice for a wonderful fresh taste. This dish I usually can't finish, since I must always have my favorite appettizers at Thai Essence first, so I take a to go container and enjoy the rest for lunch the next day. Don't forget while placing your dinner order, to put in your orfer for the most scrumptous dessert they offer, the chocolate souffle! Amazing. Fresh, moist, they come and pour the chocolate sauce over the cake at your table and I must say that I could probably eat one or two myself, but I prefer to waive the extra calories so I share it with my dinner mate for just that sweet chocolate taste to end my delicious meal. Highly recommended to go ! A gem in Nutley and i get there every chance I get! read more

Simple yet elegant. Though the menu selection isn't as large as one might hope for, the food is pretty tasty. Good food with a warm friendly staff. read more

So fresh!! I had grilled scallops with grilled vegetables. The vegetables were so juicy. My husband has the chicken curry which was full of flavor. We were told many times about this place, finally tried it. We will back!! The waitress was a doll too. read more

Great food, service, and ambiance - best mussels and lamb chops I've ever had and many other favorites. This is the only place I go out to eat in Nutley. Haters... restaurants cannot legally keep family with kids out so your ratings are unfair; food poisoning - really?!? not enough rice ?- it's for your own good. Fly in your salad? ok, that's not cool but it happens and don't forget most restaurants have way worse health hazards. Don't be quick to give businesses bad reviews on some petty stuff. This place definitely does not deserve one or two stars! read more

Horrible and anyone who says otherwise works there or owns the place the pad Thai was disgusting the curry puffs were over powering and the satay tasted horrible not to mention they gave me chicken and not beef like I was supposed to get. However on a softer note the Thai rice was good but as for the rest of the meal I get sick just thinking about it and after over a decade as a professional chef and restaurant owner I would be embarrassed to serve this food. read more

By far the beat Thai Restaurant I've been to so far. I've been to a few places that come close but I always leave saying how its just not as good. read more

Really love this place. The crispy pan fried salmon is great. Wish that the menu would change and have some specials.

This restaurant is hidden Gem. Food was delicious and the service was great. I can't wait to eat there again.

Best Thai food in Essex county. Never dissappoints. Get the mussels and drunken noodle. I have never had a bad meal here and the service is great. read more

Well my 1st yelp so I hope this will be helpful. Best deal is to come at Lunch time (before 3pm) you pay half of what you'd pay after 3pm. And try to go for the Lunches Entrees rather than the other dishs Since with Lunch Entrees you will get your choice of soup/salad of the day. oh after 3pm they for awhile to prepare for dinner and Usually gets busy on weekends! I personally like the pad thai (w/ shrimp), mushroom soup, and thai ice coffee/ice tea. And for parking please dont forget to bring quarters! read more

My husband and I love this restaurant. The food is very tasty, delish. Our favorite dishes include Massaman Curry, Grilled beef, Flat Rice Noodle w. Black Soy Sauce and offcourse Chicken Pad Thai. I don't understand why so many bad reviews, if you know a better place than this, please let me know, but as far as Thai food, it was not able to find a better place than Thai Essence. Thanks! P.S: my husband is on his way to Thai Essence to pick up, tonight we are going for Green Curry (first time) and Saute Chicken Hot Pepper. Yum! read more

Yelp has been manipulating user reviews to force them to advertise on the site. Small business owners find negative reviews reappeared while positve reviews disappear after they refused to buy advertising . "Yelp has been hit with another lawsuit, the third in a matter of a few weeks. Similar to the previous complaints, this lawsuit filed by Boris Levitt, the owner of Renaissance Furniture Restoration in San Francisco, claims that Yelp's "unfair and unethical conduct in promoting, marketing and advertising its website as maintaining unbiased reviews" is unlawful and hurt his business. Levitt's suit is similar to the previous claims that Yelp is extorting businesses for advertising. We've embedded the complaint below. The business claims that after declining a request to purchase advertising on Yelp, a number of positive reviews from his business' listing on the reviews site mysteriously disappeared, downgrading the company's rating on the site. Levitt claims that ten out of eleven five star reviews were removed from his company's page following his decision not to purchase advertising on Yelp. read more

Food OK. Good sit down. Service nice A bit more expensive when compared to other Thai Restaurants but would go again. BYOB is the best part. read more

Great service and delicious food. Had the chicken Red Curry great flavor, just the right amount of heat. Also amazing, the spicy beef salad and the papaya salad. read more

I went with a friend on 7/23/16 for an early dinner. A couple of tables were already occupied, and a few people arrived while we ate. An aquarium containing exotic fish welcomed us inside. The wait staff was courteous, service great, ambiance nice, and the food delicious. I ate the Drunken Noodles, which contained authentic Thai noodles, chicken, scallops, shrimp, and mushrooms. It was my second time eating Thai food and it was a great experience. All for a great price. I recommend it. read more

Great Thai food. The waitresses are really nice and are willing to accommodate large orders. You definitely have the Thai iced tea over here - they put it in a cool looking mug. This place is definitely good for groups of friends and family. I do plan on going back. read more

The pad thai was super sweet and definitely one of the worse that I've had. To top it off, the waitress double charged my card by mistake and instead of handling it in a cordial manner, the owner was a total JERK about it!! I had to get it handled through my bank. Never coming here again. read more

I had the Pad Thai from here the other day and it was really tasty. It was a great blend of sweet, sour and a little spiciness. We ordered take out, so I can't comment on the service; the hostess we encountered was friendly and courteous. I will definitely order from here again. read more

Love this place!! Coming from a Thai person this gives a nice local feel!! It's so good!!! Chocolate soufflé all the way! Love it so much

Best Thai food I've had in this area! I've been to a bunch that just doesn't compare. I always get the pad see ew...so good!

Over the past year or so I've been finding myself at this restaurant at least once or twice a month. I usually stick with the green papaya salad and chicken pad gra prow. The best part of this place is the heat. If you like spicy food (5 out of 5 on their scale) you will not be disappointed read more

I am shocked by the bad reviews on Thai Essence. My family and I eat here very, very frequently and we are never disappointed. The food is absolutely delicious. Most Thai restaurants make their dishes too sweet, but Thai Essence's pad thai, pad kee mao, and pad see ew are PERFECT. Not to mention, the chocolate souffle is excellent. The restaurant itself is very cute inside and trendy. It's enough for you to feel comfortable while at the same time still enjoying the ambiance of "going out". And best of all, it's BYOB. Pricing is very reasonable. You will enjoy the food and atmosphere here... 5 Stars. read more

Great Thai food with a lovely atmosphere. Waitress was friendly, on top of her game, and graciously asked the chef to accommodate to my pescatarian needs! Will definitely be returning soon to try some more of their dishes. read more

Hands down the best Thai place in the area. Food always fresh and service is excellent. Mango with coconut rice is the best.

I come here for lunch sometimes. So far, I haven't been disappointed. It's not a traditional Thai food. I think it's a fusion with French. I personally really like the green curry and pan-fried salmon. read more

I'm surprised that they have gotten such low reviews. I love thai food and this is one of the best thai restaurants I've been too and I can say the best in the area. The service is good, it's family owned and I usually get the same waiter/waitress. I read previous comments about bad service but they are attentive and polite. They have the best chicken pad see ew! read more

Best thai food around! Nice, romantic ambiance (much bigger and nicer than Spice in Bloomfield). Lunch specials are less than $9 and take out is ready in 15 minutes! The waitstaff is very nice and helpful. Definitely my favorite place in the area. read more

After having a mostly negative experience my first time here, I posted my thoughts and was contacted by Amy. She apologized that I was disappointed and offered me a full refund. I told her that I appreciated her contacting me and instead of crediting me back, I would take a credit and give the restaurant another try. With that said, I was told to speak with Ann or Andy and they would take care of me. So after being out of the area for a while on business, this past Tuesday night I was working in the area and decided to give them a call for take out. I spoke to Andy and placed my order. I placed an order for The steamed chicken dumplings and chicken with garlic sauce with mushrooms and onions. My experience this time was much different. I was very pleased by the professional and pleasant customer service I received from Andy. My food was ready for pick up when I arrived and the order was correct. The food was hot, and all the containers were filled with food...not half empty like I experienced on my initial visit. I'm glad that I decided to give this restaurant another chance. The food was very good and I have no complaints. I feel that they absolutely made up for a disappointing first experience. read more

This is a great local restaurant that we go to once every few weeks. We all have our favorite dishes, I love the Pad Cashew, my husband loves the Green Curry & my brother always gets the Massaman Curry, all of which taste amazing. I'm so happy to have this restaurant in our neighborhood, we are never disappointed. read more

I have been dining at Thai Essence for the past three years have enjoyed every meal that I have had. Appetizers that are my favorite are the chicken satay, which are whole chicken tender size and not small pieces put together on a skewer like I have had in other Thai places. The raw tuna and spicy mustard is to die for.The fish is always fresh and dishes or cooked to order. The Pad Kee Mow is the best I have had in NJ and Florida. The staff is friendly and accomdating and makes your dining experience memorable. Great place to eat at reasonable prices.- Steve read more

Love this place. Staff is always courteous. Pad see ew, grilled beef and thai iced tea are great choices.

Very nice ambience, and good food. The staff is friendly, too. It's a little expensive, but if you consider it that you are paying for a nice atmosphere, it isn't too bad. read more

My favorite thai place. They know my name every time I walk in or order for pick up. The aura is nice. All employees are very nice. Sticky rice is the best !!! read more